Exploring the grief of loss with gothic death doom melancholy!
- Thank You for the Dance
- Rat in the Wall (featuring Okko Solanterä of Horizon Ignited)
- Divided
- Again into the Night
- Burden
- Diamonds in the Rough (featuring Okko Solanterä of Horizon Ignited)
- Pity the Living
- Goodbyes and Good Intentions
- Tyhjä
- The Colour of You
Losing someone you love sucks. It can weigh on you like a ton of bricks, suffocating in its pressure, some of the deepest and darkest melancholy one can feel. Many albums across genres have explored these themes, and one of my favorite metal albums from 2025 did just this, in quite timely fashion, when I lost my mom. There is just something about metal that can get to the core and convey that deep rooted emotion in a way that nothing else can.
Finnish melodic death doom band Marianas Trench has done just this with their most recent release, “The Bereaved.” It chronicles the loss of a loved one, exploring the many facets of grief, including pain, anger, suffering, reflection. They expertly balance dreamy atmospheric doom with abrasive death metal, biasing toward the slower doom pace, all drenched in gothic melancholy. But that isn’t enough, as you get a hefty dose of progressive craftmanship, allowing the music to break from the standard doom and death molds and carve rich textures into the fabric of each song. This mix of doom, death, goth, and progressive flavors is intoxicating, evoking heartbreaking emotion and challenging the listener to face their grief and unleash their feelings. Jaakos’s vocals do just this, with his mournful cleans and intense snarls, balanced perfectly to match the current mood. The guitars can be both crushing and delicate, the keyboards swirling in wonder, with the drums lambasting your senses. Swallow the Sun has been synonymous with Finnish melancholic metal, but with their recent shift toward more accessible goth soaked tunes that rely less on the death doom elements, Marianas Rest is here to fill that gap and continue carrying the torch.
“Thank You for the Dance” sets the tone early, with ominous chants echoing in a church sanctuary followed by a soft somber passage featuring organ and subdued harmonized vocals. Then the atmosphere swirls amidst a crushing wall of sound, a melody soaking in pain, an impassioned roar greeting you. One of the simpler songs structure-wise, but powerful in its execution. As it closes, the whispered “It is such a mysterious place…the land of tears” cements the journey we are embarking on.
“Rat in the Wall” is easily my favorite song, a melancholic melodeath hymn with a gothic doom aura. The melodies are gripping, gothic textures permeating, and the vocals tug at your heart through their aggression and passion. The chorus is utterly phenomenal with an earworm quality that literally holds a lease on my ear canals, a sorrowful cry of denial and not wanting to face the reality of the loss of a loved one. The song does a great job shifting dynamics throughout, and the metaphor of a rat in a wall adds weight to the touching emotional heaviness of the subject matter. The additional guest vocals from Okko Solanterä of Horizon Ignited meld beautifully.
“Divided” feels like the pain of grief, with cries of “I will never forgive you for letting go” and the wretched blackened vocal delivery punctuating “You left me here for these wolves to rip apart.” The keyboards paint an ominous soundscape with their gloomy atmosphere, functioning as the lead instrument with an ethereal choir echoing in the background. This enables the guitars and drums to be more restrained and the vocals to be front and center, accentuating the feelings of misery and sorrow. You do eventually get a late guitar solo, mournful in its melody and tone.
“Again into the Night” has a slow shoegazey intro before hammering its melodic melancholy atop driving drums and a powerful riff, atmosphere swirling in eerie fashion. I am impressed with how much feeling Jaako puts into his snarls, simultaneously impassioned and sinister, emotion dripping. The melodic flourishes in the final 2 minutes are so infectious, pairing well with the urgency in the drumming and the conviction in the vocals.
The ending nearly transitions perfectly into the slower paced “Burden,” which starts with a massive opening. You get a brief reprieve with clean vocals in an atmospheric gothic melody, before amping things back up and hitting you hard with brutal vocals. It maintains the brutal vocals through a reprise of these two passages, lures you in with a soft dreamy piano, then rips your head off in crushing form. The vocals and melodies add an aura of bombast throughout, and I am reminded of some of the bigger moments from fellow Finns Swallow the Sun.
The intro to “Diamonds in the Rough” is worth the price of admission alone, with a killer melody that powers ahead in beautiful melancholy. The keyboards and guitars rule this song, adding some progressive flair to the driving melodic death metal cadence while also varying the pace and rhythms at different times. I especially love the later instrumental section before yielding to the huge chorus one final time, a chorus that hits hard in earworm fashion, taking advantage of the second guest showing from Okko Solanterä . The ending sprint is so good with an infectious melody and driving finish to the somber soliloquy that continues the grief journey.
“Pity the Living” matches the vibe of the title with the somber melodies contained within, slow and deliberate. The doomy atmosphere is complemented by the poignant guitar riffs that power the song ahead. This song seems to explore the acceptance one must have that the lost loved one finally feels no more pain and is better being where they are (“You may have our permission to go”). There is a nice extended guitar solo that takes its time, bleeding emotion and punctuating the hurt that is felt.
“Goodbyes and Good Intentions” opens with a bass solo and tortured vocals, quickly broadening into a wall of sound dominated by myriad moving melodies surrounded by grief-ridden ambiance. The middle features a spoken word section of reflection and missed opportunity that has clearly caused regret, a common part of the grieving process. “Goodbyes never told” is reprised in tortured fashion throughout the song, building an emotional connection with the protagonist in the album.
“Tyhjä” is an ethereal ambient instrumental piece, and its placement makes me think it represents the process after you have truly had to say goodbye to your lost loved one. It transitions into album closer “The Colour of You,” the longest track on the album, thematically exploring personal reflection and the hole in your life resulting from loss. It opens with a gorgeous picked guitar melody complemented by soft keyboards, with a spoken word reflection of the one we have lost. The keyboards begin to swell, leading to a majestic chorus that proclaims “You were my sea, ocean that carried me as world began to sink,” citing the strength you had together. The lyrics and vocal melodies are powerful and heart wrenching, and they honestly bring tears to my eyes when I reflect back to the loss of my mom. Marianas Rest does such a fabulous job exuding emotion and painful remembrance, tugging at the heartstrings and evoking emotion in all the right ways. What a way to end the album!
The lyrics hit hard and can be uncomfortable, but they are so relevant and bring such an emotional touch to one of the hardest things humans have to endure, with the music matching the somber tone in powerful fashion. I can’t say enough great things about this latest album from Marianas Rest, and I encourage you to seek it out and listen to it again and again. It may even connect with you in a way that only music can do.
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Ahoy!
You know when the theme is about loss and grief you know you are diving into very dark waters. But before I go any further commenting, accept my deepest condolences on your loss, David. I took not notice of it until now and I am terribly sorry if I did. I may have skipped the review and missed when you talked about your loss. Actually, the theme resonates with me as well. In my case, and more precisely, a loss from someone who was becoming a fatherly figure to me. And I say “was” because the relationship never came to fruition that, as soon as it was starting to develop more it ended so tragically. Anyways, moving on, here is what I have to say about the album.
To start off, I’d like to mention that my knowledge with the melodeath genre is quite limited. I may have listened few bands such as Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquility and Swallow the Sun, but that is about it. And from these few bands I still have not gave myself a proper time to listen to their entire discography. Sometimes I get stuck in one band or two bands for quite so long. Therefore my observations could be very generic or perhaps a bit too obvious to some. However, in recent years I decided I could keep expanding my music tastes. One of my goals this year is exploring genres in depth. Basically best way to do that is discovering (and or re-discovering) whatever is available out there online to appreciate. Who knows, maybe it was just a matter of time that I would stumble upon melodeath after all these years. As properly stated by you, the band is not just one genre but several. I still wanted to point this out because that genre may be at the core of its sound, followed by the slowness of doom metal throughout each song. If this was a car that we are talking, melodeath is definitely the engine whereas the doom can represent the tires hitting the ground. That slowness is what allows the atmosphere to be adjusted to any direction that may be needed to balance the brutality of death, if that makes sense.
“Thank You for the Dance” was very subtle opener and the implementation of chants from a sanctuary transported me immediately. Conceptual-wise that gave the proper amount of originality to the album from the start. And I enjoyed the idea of a narrator taking the concept to the next level in terms of storytelling and more heartbreaking. Perhaps from all songs the one which essence felt quite in a liquid state, easier to digest in one take, but then just what was needed to make the first move. I think the title also was a beautiful banner, as in a way to come to terms with death, acceptance to what the mind knows is the inevitable (but then what your heart finds unacceptable?).
“Rat in the Wall” – A very crude and versatile structure. It took me several listens to digest it entirely. But once digested, it becomes a most exquisite tune to experience. Very surprised I would find a big gem early on. It did not go unnoticed, not at all! You know, I agree with you, I would lie if I say it was not becoming one of my favorite ones. Basically it has all the ingredients to be ranked as the most catchy one and most memorable of all. Above all things, I was astonished at the sudden shifts from calmness toward raging vocals that are not, and will not, ask any permission to come in and out. The initial whispers suddenly stop and it felt like curtains from a theater going down, as the raging sound emerge so dramatically and weighs heavily reducing the presence sobbing chorus. My ears were mourning the vocals at all times that performed death in the most agonizing ways. The impotence, the frenzy, the limitations feel so vivid, as if someone is releasing all the energy left from within for one last time. Indeed, what a great song!
“Divided” – Faster pace and darker lyrics. This one felt more dense but wow, what did I just hear coming from that VOICE? I want to highlight the bizarre level of experimentation on voice pitch. At some point the sound evolved from what could have been a beetle, a baby rat, a wasp or just all these at once. Kudos on experimentation here. Very well executed. Apart from that the song remained as same throughout the end with little variation. Indeed a very atmospheric song for the most part with a unique approach on vocals.
“Again into the Night” – Possibly the most melancholic one with heavily strong signs of desperation. The pace remains mostly slow depicting lament and a sense of impediment and defeat. It is the kind of song I would enjoy at a specific time of my day, mostly during quiet morning hours and a good cup of coffee. It may not be most uplifting song but that does not take its charm away. Definitely a not in the “for-everyone” category because you will need time. And perhaps that is how tricky it gets when it comes to the slow pace of doom vibes and melodeath, you must give a proper listen for a proper appreciation.
“Burden” I am fascinated by the many layers the album has to offer. In this case, for instance, this song feels like the “fog” portrayed in a dark landscape. All happens as if through a dreamy and blurry lens. Haunting echoes joining along with the crude growls, and the involvement of an isolated piano at times, and then recurring growls crushing whenever is necessary. Needless to say, I was particularly amazed when you mentioned Swallow the Sun as a reference to this song. That band may be my only reference in melodeath, perhaps the only one I explored the most after Arch Enemy. So it felt safe to think make this association in my mind and then finding out you did as well, given that you are was comforted to see that my familiarity was not just a coincidence. As a matter of fact, the foggy vibes reminded me a lot of Swallow the Sun, but I was not entirely sure if I should mention it. Then you did it and now felt more appropriate. How cool is that? Talk about growing confidence through comments. Hahahaha!
“Diamonds in the Rough” – The landscape is revitalized by a most melodic sound. Perhaps most melodic of all songs, in my opinion. If “Again in the Night” was going down and slow pace this is the antithesis less dense, a clear direction adding recharged growls that seem energized as the song progresses. From the get-go everything feels fresh and with a sense of hope within so much decay. Any doom influence is completely abandoned here giving an opportunity for speedy guitars and a reverberating chorus pairing every now and then. After two listens I was already hooked by it. I enjoyed it very much and in terms of order, it was quite convenient to get me through the end of the album. As if some kind of checkpoint to gather mental strength. Yes. By all means, in my opinion, this one goes hand-in-hand with “Rat in the Wall”, in terms of hit songs that stand out within the album — Both being quite different from one another but fulfilled with a blast of originality, each on its own way. As it should bee..!!
“Pity the Living” Oh boy, Doom STRIKES BACK. It was a shocking come back of epic doom atmosphere mixed with death and it felt quite captivating from the start. This song proves the versatility within the album playing with the genre adding sometimes a lot from one genre or the other and I simply love that fluctuation throughout the entire album. Indeed what a stunning song. There is not much variation but it feels like everything happening is just enough and anything else would have been wrong to add. Split in two initial verses with the eerie agony that only doom knows best how to represent, it was a great contrast. Then, the guitars do a phenomenal job hitting hard to pause all lament and the voice is faded and a solo takes over. Brilliantly balanced with simplicity and a great interaction between guitars and growls.
“Goodbyes and Good Intentions” – The nature of this song is best described by ongoing intensifying growls that take you on a desperate journey throughout the entire song. Melodies, on the other hand, may seem secondary, and all that explosiveness produced by growls give so much meaning to its lyrical content -if you pay attention to it. Not much innovation presented by the instruments yet that would not stop from being a engaging ambient sound -as you properly described in your review, David. At first, I considered the harshness of it may be too repetitive but after few listens did not seem excessive anymore. I think it served its purpose fairly. Overall a decent addition in terms of all that is needed to shape the concept as a whole. Maybe not the strongest if observed as “stand-alone” piece of music.
Tyhjä – To my surprise, I noticed there was a hidden instrumental one hidden within the album. It felt like taking a break from much harshness and it suited me well. You know, as if giving you a time to relax for a moment after such heavy weight of a journey. I loved the addition with some unique atmosphere and it gave me a sense of peace I was not expecting to find.
The Color of You – This is definitely a gem from the album and the transition to get me here felt just right. It is quite emotional both lyrics and the slow pace given that it gives me the chills while listening. It is interesting this one brought you to tears. And now that you brought that up, let me share that in my case that was “Diamonds in the Rough”. At any rate, I agree with you that this one is quite intense. These are some powerful pieces of music that go directly to the heart. It felt like the most elegant farewell to so much pain. Above all things, I loved the lyrics in this one for the most part and the chosen title. Quite poetic, driven and transcendental!
FINAL REMARKS
This album needs some serious amount of time to be digested properly. It makes me glad I could go back to it this month once again and now I could totally feel every tune in all its glory. It carries a lot of weight and you need to be ready for it. If you give it time, it becomes a unique adventure honoring the most profound feelings about death and all that can be learn from it.
Well, it has been an amazing journey going over this band. I knew nothing of it, now I know a lot! All thanks to your reviews which gave me the opportunity to explore one more band. Feeling more familiar with melodeath sound and other influences with doom and gothic in it. Great!
That is all, sailing off,
LONG LIVE THE GOOD MUSIC!
-MetalMadCat
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